[Will]

Originally posted by Pax:
*snip*

IP is one of the things I think should be zealously guarded and protected. Elsewhere in this thread, someone -- I don't know if it was you or someone else -- suggested a return to the older ways, where wealthy families supported artists as a prestige symbol.

Which would only mean that art would, inherently, reflect only the ideals and aims of the rich; that the only artists who could afford to devote themselves to their work, would be those who were friends with wealthy people ... or were wealthy themselves.

That would have been me... and I wasn't exactly advocating a complete return to this system (feudalism had its own problems too, and we don't want to go back to that), but more wishing that those with large amounts of money and power would support the arts through "philanthropy"; as it is, most of the wealthiest people spend most of their time trying to make even more money. For a lot, the only real reason they donate to various charities is to get a tax break. So, pretty much, it was wishful thinking; I don't expect it to happen.

And as to the reflections made of art... if that observation were really true, then today, art would only reflect the ideals and aims of the middle- and upper-class. They're the only ones who can actually afford to spend on things of artistic value and still be able to pay for necessities. Yet instead, a lot of the art I've seen reflects the ideals and aims of others -- minorities, blue-collar workers, urban gangs, etc. -- just as much, and you could argue more so than, as it reflects the ideals of those who are paying for it.